Switch for center-rail elevated railroads



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. A. BARTHOLOMEW. SWITCH POR CENTER RAIL BLBVATED RAILROADS.

Patented M r. 26., 1889.

ATTORNEY,

N, PETERS, Pholo-Lnnngrlphar. Wnihinglon. D. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I'. A. BARTHOLOMEW.

SWITGH FOR CENTER RAIL BLBVATED RAILROADS.

No. 400,164. y Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

. I NVENTOH Maj/3M www ATTORNEY.

NA rimas mmmmgnphnr. wmiwm nu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS A. BARTHOLOMEVV, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEV JERSEY.

SWITCH FOR CENTER-RAIL EL'EVATED RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,164, dated March 26, 1889.

Y Application sied August e, Isae. serial No. 210,167. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANCIS A. BARTHoLo- MEW, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bloomfield, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Switches for Center-Rail Elevated Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in switches for elevated railways in general, but specially for that class thereof known as a sin gle-rail elevated road,77 in which the main weight of the load and rolling-stock is supported upon a single central rail elevated above two side rails.

The invention will be hereinafter fully described7 and specifically pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in which- Figure l represents a plan View of my improved switch placed in line with a main track, and showing also in dotted center lines its position when thrown to switch off a train from the main to a side track or branch line. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same in horizontal section on the line Z Z of Fig. 3 and looking downward. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line X X of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail vcrosssection of one of the transoms or cross-beams of the truss or the sub-structure of the swingtrack or movable swinging portion of theswitch, or as taken on the line 'y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an end view of the transversely-sliding portion or switch-carriage seen in the direction of arrow 1 of Fig. 6, the frame thereof being partly broken out on the line WV W, and the rails on which the carriage slides being left out, so as not to crowd other details. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same seen from the lines o t' of Figs. 5, 7 ,and S in direction of arrows 2. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same placed to correspond to Fig. 5 when looked down upon. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the movable parts underlying the switch-carriage and by which the latter receives its transverse movement automatically from the' lateral throw of the swing-track.

A is the main track with center rail, d, and side rails, a.

B is a side track with its center rail, Z), and side rails, b.

C is the swing-track or the swinging p0rtion of the switch, the center rail and side rails of which are designated like those on the main track by letters a and a', respectively.

D is the switch-carriage arranged to move transversely to the switch-track, as will hereinafter appear, regulated automatically by the movement of the latter, so as to connect the rails a and a of the main track and the swing-track with the corresponding rails, b and b', of the branch track. The switch-carriage has on its surface rail-pieces a and a for connection with the rails of the main track and the swing-track when the latter switches onto the main track, and at the side of the said rail-pieces another set of rail-pieces, b and b', which, when the switch-carriage and the lswing-track are moved to connect with the branch line, form a continuous rail of the side rails, a', of the main track and swing-track with the side rails, b', of the branch track,

the center rail, b, on the switch-carriage atthe same time simultaneously connecting in one line the center' rail of the main track with the center rail of the swing-track and the center rail of the branch track. The position of the swing-track when moved in the direction of arrow 3 to connect with the branch track, (see Fig. 1,) is indicated by the dotted lines representing the cent-er lines of the rail.

E represents one or more of the posts of the structure upon which the track is supported, the switch-carriage being arranged directly upon and above one of the said posts, and at the other end of the swing-track a plate, e', is secured upon the post for the end of the swingtrack to rest upon and to move on, to facilitate which movement the swing-track is provided with the friction rollers or wheels c2. (See Fig. 1.)

The throwing of the switch*that is, the swinging aside of the swing-track-niay be accomplished by suitable handjoperated mechanism; but I prefer to use for the purpose a hydraulic motor.

In Fig. l J is intended to represent such a motor, being in this case, for the sake of simplicity, shown as an oscillating cylinder whose piston, by its connecting-rod j, is pivoted or movably connected to the center IOC beam oi the swing-track, so as to pull the latter when switching oil to the branch track and push it when again switching onto the main track, in a manner easily understood by reference to Fig. l.

The switch-carriage D is preferably arranged to slide or move upon rails @,secured upon the posts l, and to reduce friction itV may be provided with friction rollers or io wheels in like manner as the switch-track, as betere described, and the transverse movement ol the switch-carriage i. et't'ected automatically by the movement of the swing-track, the construction ol which I will now proceed to describe.

The swing-track is built up ot" a center beam or compound girdcr, F, of iron, and iron side beams, G, parallel with the said ccnter beam, li, the side beams being interconzo nected and iirmly united by traiisoms q7LA and.

diagonal braces g.

At the end ot' the swing-track, above the post E directly undernez'tth the switch-carriage, the center beam, F, is provided with a 2 5 strongbracket, havin a perforated lug which, by a bolt, is pivoted at e upon the post E, said point c being the center for the motion ofthe swing-track.

To the end olf the transoms f, and at inter- 3o vals to the center beam, l?, are secured upwartlly-projecting inclined braces j g, to which is 'ecurcd the elevated center rail, d, the side rails, a', being secured upon wooden beams placed longitudinally above the supf porting iron beams G upon wooden sleepers or cross-bars laid upon the iianges otl the said iron beams (t, the swing track thus constructed being a strong sellwsupport'ing scction like a ln'idge-t'russ, spanning the distance 40 between two end supports.

The side beams, G, are provided at the pivoted cud of the swing-track with links c', connecting two bell-crank levers, H, which latter are pivoted at 71, and are interconnected by a :i5 bar, I, which, by a bolt, i', Vis coi'inected to a lug, o', ot the switch-carriage fl). (Sec lfigs. 2, 5, t3, and S.)

The operation is easily understood by .reifcrence to Figs. l, L), 7, and S. When the enw 5o gine .l is started to move the swing-track in the direction oi.' arrow one of the side beains G pushes and moves the nearest lever ll in the direction ot" arrow ft and the other beam G pulls its nearest elbow-lever in the direc- 5 5 tion of arrow thus moving' the rod I, and also the switch-carriage D, attached to said rod, in the direction oi. arrow t, until, when the side rails, o, and. center rail, c, of the swing-track are` exactly in line with the cor- So responding rails, 7) and Z), of the branch track l-S, the side -rail pieces, h', and centerlrail piece, ot the Switch*carriage have got into position exactly in line with the correspond ing rails, a and o., ot the swing-track C and i 5 the nearest portion ot' the main track A. It

is evident that by moving the swingtrack back again to the main track-that is, in a direction opposite to arrow S-the switchcarriage l) will. also be moved in a direction opposite to that indicated by arrow t3, and resume its position shown in Figs. l and '7. The rod l, which connects the elbow-levers fil, preferably made in sections, the portion thereof connected directly to the elbow-levers having sockets threaded inside, and the center portion, in which the bolt i enters, is pro vided on its ends with right and lett threads, so that by turning the center portion in the said socket the length o'f the rod, and consequently the distance between its pivotal points of the elbow-leve`rs ll, may be adjusted to a nicety.

The construction ot the sliding section or switchcarriage above described obviates pointed switch-rails and the open space oth erwise needed between the switch-rail and sta tionary rail, as well as in the latter itself, to allow the flanges of car-wheels and locomotive-wheels to pass from the main track to" a side track, or vice versa, and which is a source of the dailgcr of dei-ailment.

The sliding section or switch-carriage herein described and shown should not be confounded with a switclrrail oseillable upon a stationary pivot at one end or in the center ot the said switch-rail-itor instance, such as shown in `Patents Nos. 278,810 and 326,406, to which I lay no claim.

ll'aving thus described my invention, I claim i as new and desi rc to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination, with a main track and a branch track, oi' a swing-track or swinging section and a sliding section or switch-carriage, both moving sin'tultaneously, the latter transversely to the former, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2, The combination, with a main track. and a branch track, ot' a swing-track or swinging section and a sliding section or switch-carriage, both moving simultaneously, the latter operated. automatically by the movement ot' thc former.

2i. The combination, with a main track and a branch track and with a swing-track or swinging section, and a sliding section or switeh-carriage moving transversely to the track, ol' a hydraulic motor, J', having piston rod connected to the said switch-track, substantiall y as and for the purpose set forth.

t. In combination with a main track and a branch track, a rigid swing-track pivoted at one end in its longitudinal. center line to a stationary part oi' the structure and supported at its other end to admit of a circular movement horizontally on the said pivot, a sliding section or switch-carriage movable transversely to the track at the pivoted end ot' the said swing-track, and movable connections, substantially as described, transmitting motion from the said swing-track to the said switch-carriage, as hereinbetore set forth.'

5. In combination with a main track and a branch track and with a switch-carriage, D,

provided With switch-rails d a and l) b and arranged to move transversely to the track, the swing-track C, pivoted at one end in its longitudinal center line to a stationary part of the structure and having at opposite sides of its pivot-point pivotal links c', the elbowlevers H, pivoted to the said structure, and the rod I, pivoted to the said switch-carriage for operating the latter automatically by the movement of the said switch-track.

6. In combination With a main track and a branch track and with a switch-carriage, D, provided with switoh-rails a a and vhb and arranged to move transversely to the track, the swing-track C, composed of the center beam or girder, F, and side beams, G, oonneoted by suitable transoms and braces, f

and g, supporting a center rail, d, and side enee of two Witnesses, this 5th day of Au- 3o gust, 1886.

FRANCIS A. BARTHOLOMEV.

Titnessesz M. L. THOMSON, A. W. ALMovIsT. 

